Book Reports - Page 3

Chapter 12 covers the 1956 and 1957 seasons. Phil Pepe (the sportswriter) and his brother Paul reminisced about their going to games in the 1940’s and 1950’s. All of the other Brooklyn fans also felt that base was primary at the park, all else was ancillary. People used to disrupt their business practices to check on scores and innings. It was mainly a blue collar worker’s team. On February 5,m 1956 Mayor Wagner created the Brooklyn Sports Center Authority to try and obtain a location for a new ballpark. On April 17th, the World Champions flag was hoisted. Two days later they played their first home game at Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City. Governor Averill Harriman came down on the 21st to sign the bill to authorize the Authority. The Manhattan Borough President proposed a huge stadium over the New York Central’s 60th Street yard by the Hudson River, for the Giants. The Dodgers’ new stadium would be at Atlantic & Flatbush Avenues, over the Long Island Railroad’s Brooklyn terminal. There would be parking garages as well. But the giants did not really do much about a new stadium. Attendance fell after 1954 and the football went across the Harlem River after 1955. The Dodgers’ 1956 season went well and clinched the pennant on the last day of the regular season. Dodgers had obtained two new pitchers: Don Drysdale as a rookie, and Sal Maglie from a trade. Then they faced the Yankees again and were the victims of a perfect game and lost the series in 7 games. Towards the end of the 1956 season President Eisenhower visited Ebbets Field as part of his campaigning and got to throw out the first ball in a game. Despite O’Malley’s saying the ballpark was a dump, the Dodgers led in attendance. After the 1956 World Series the Dodges flew to Japan for a tour, but first they stopped in Los Angeles. O’Malley met with the Los Angeles County supervisor Kenneth Hahn regarding the possibility of relocating there. On October 31, 1956, the last Brooklyn trolleys ran and O’Malley sold the park to Marvin Kratter who planned to build housing there. Later the plans for a new Brooklyn stadium had been approved, and the Sports Authority would ask for more funds. The Clarke-Rapuano Consulting Firm said that the plans were forwarded to the borough president. It would obliterate several blocks of housing though. That was a problem replacing housing with a ballpark. At the end of 1956 Jackie Robinson was traded to the Giants (O’Malley did not care for him and vice versa, due to the Branch Rickey connection). Jackie retired instead. The Board of Estimate did not give the Sports Authority much money for the engineering and economic surveys. In early 1957 O’Malley was in LA looking at the site in Chavez Ravine. On January 31, 1957, a consultant named Madigan sent the Sports Authority a memo saying that it would be quite expensive to amortize the $15 million bond issue at 4%. At a baseball writes dinner three weeks later, O’Malley and Phil Wrigley agreed to swap minor league franchises – the Fort Worth Cats for the Los Angeles Angels. O’Malley was still not offered anything concrete by New York City. He offered to spend his own money to build the park, but then he ran into politicians. During spring training the Los Angeles mayor Norris Poulson flew to Vero Beach to try and entice the Dodgers to head west. Poulson and O’Malley met several times during 1957 assuring that the site in Chavez Ravine was available. Robert Moses offered O’Malley the site in Queens where Citfield is now located. Svein Arber said that O’Malley led the fans and the city into thinking that the Dodgers were staying he was actually planning to leave after the 1957 season, despite the fact that the Dodgers outdrew the Yankees. In mid-1957 the NCAA baseball championships were played at Ebbets Field – St. John’s beat Lafayette but lost to Penn State. On May 28th, the National League owners game the Dodgers and Giants permission to move to California. Wagner said that he was doing everything to keep the teams in New York. On July 17th Stoneham and O’Malley met with the San Francisco mayor George Christopher to discuss the Giants’ new home there and voted on August 19th to move west to San Francisco after the season. The last Brooklyn Dodgers-New York Giants game was played at the Polo Grounds on September 8th. At the same time O’Malley encouraged Nelson Rockefeller to try and finance the new stadium by buying the property by the LIRR terminal and leas e it to the Dodgers. But land condemnation would cost $8,000,000. O’Malley backed out. Efforts by others to buy the team did not pan out. On September 24, 1957, the last game was played at Ebbets Field – a 2-0 Dodger victory over the Pirates. They played their last game as Brooklyn Dodgers on September 29th in Philadelphia. On October 7th, the Los Angeles city council approved the ordinance giving O’Malley the property at Chavez Ravine.

In Chapter 13 we learn how O’Malley slowly bought control of the team and by the early 1950’s was planning for a new ballpark. Costs figures were not on his side. He soon started to schedule home games in New Jersey. On April 12, 1956, a bill was drafted in Albany that created the Sports authority. In March 1957 O’Malley visited Los Angeles and the move crystallized. In New York, the politicians wanted no part of the issue since it was a mayoral election year. Reporter Dick Young said that by May 28th,O’Malley still did not give a definite answer to whether he was moving as Stoneham had done. O’Malley had accepted 300 acres in Chavez Ravine to have Dodger Stadium built. After the Dodgers left Ebbets Field in 1958 and 1959 hosted demolition derbies, college baseball and soccer. After 1957 and through the 1960’s the area around the ballpark site changed demographically. In 1963 the City Planning Commission announced redevelopment of the neighborhood with an elementary school and housing. Crown Heights had become mostly black by the 1960’s except for the Hasidic communities. The area in Fort Greene that O’Malley originally wanted resisted development until the 21st century, despite an earmark from the state legislature proposed by state senator Tom Bartosiewicz of Greenpoint (and a Prep alumnus) to maybe have a domed stadium there. In 2003 a man named Bruce Ratner arranged to have the New Jersey Nets move to Brooklyn and then have an arena built there, as well as housing at all income levels. In 1997 Peter and Terri O’Malley sold the franchise. The siblings in 2003 also worked to get their father elected to Cooperstown. Dick Young said that today many of the old Brooklyn Dodger fans still have their memories of the ballpark. Pete Hamill, another sportswriter, said that he made a vow, “Never forgive, never forget”. Even in the 21st century people are obsessed with the ballpark – the New York Mets’ Citifield is modeled after Ebbets Field. In other cities like Hartford CT businesses with Ebbets Filed in the name were created. Artists made and continue to make paintings of the park. In the Spring Creek area of Brooklyn a shopping center and housing were built, and a street from the Belt Parkway to the complex was named “Erskine Street” after pitcher Carl Erskine. Artifacts from the ballpark have been preserved in museums and private collections. Chapter 13 also asks what made Ebbets Field so special and great. He said it was organizations like the Brooklyn Cadets, people going to the park and coming home with a filled autograph book, having the people in the outfield reverse their suit jackets so the Dodger batters would have the pitched ball stand out against non-white backgrounds in the stands, people walking from East New York to a game, people from PS 161 checking the flagpole to see if the flag was flying (meant that the game was on). Other Brooklyn Dodger fans described going into the rotunda or the dark passageway halls and stepping into the stands and seeing the green field. Then in 2001 professional baseball returned to Brooklyn in the form of the Brooklyn Cyclones, the Mets’ Short Season A team. Their ballpark is on the site of Steeplechase Park in Coney Island – between Surf Avenue and the Boardwalk. At the Cyclones’ Opening Day on June 21st, several old Dodger veterans were there, as was Gil Hodges’ widow and surviving members of the Sym-Phony Band. The ‘Clones faced the Mahoning Valley Scrappers and won in the 9th inning. The O’Malley’s were gone and baseball was back in Brooklyn.

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I started to read Asphalt Gods - An Oral History of the Rucker Tournament by Vincent Mallozzi on April 24th. The introduction introduces the author and how he grew up in East Harlem in the 500 block of East 119th Street and playing basketball with white and black kids in the playgrounds and gyms. He mentioned how the Rucker Tournament was started by Holcombe Rucker in the early 1950’sat a playground at 8th Avenue and West 155th Street by the Polo Grounds Houses. The introduction also mentions that quite a number of future NBA stars are alumni of the Tournament. Among them are Julius Erving, Ron Artest and Stephon Marbury. Chapter 1 talks about Holcombe Rucker. He was born in 1926 to a pool family and attended Benjamin Franklin High School before dropping out to serve in the Army during World War II. After the war when he came home, he got a GED and graduated from CCNY. He then became a director with he Parks Department and eventually a teacher as well. He also worked at St. Phillips Parish Center in Central Harlem, and it was here that he first created a basketball program and tournament, after first creating an outdoor tournament on West 138th Street in 1946. Holcombe soon had his teams playing other teams in the city. He managed to get the games played despite a lock of cooperation from his own Department of Parks. In 1947 he met his future wife when he substituted for his friend who was not able to take his date, Mary, to a Billie Holiday performance at Small’s Paradise. They hit it off and were married at the end of 1947. In 1949 the program moved to the playground in the St. Nicholas Houses at 7th & 128th. This was his new headquarters. The program soon churned out alumni who played for New York’s 1950’s basketball powerhouses – SJU, NYU, LIU and CCNY. Holcombe soon approached Ed Warner, who had been jailed because of the CCNY point shaving scandal in the early 1950’s) and gave a chance to play in his tournaments. Soon Ed was playing in the college level of the Rucker Tournament with his former CCNY teammates Ed Roman and Floyd Layne. The trio also played in the minor league lever Eastern League. Chapter 2. Games in 1953 were being held at a park located at 7th Avenue & 128th Street. In 1954 Holcombe started a pro division, which meant finding a new park. That would be 2 blocks away. The pro division attracted players and lots of spectators. Ed Warner brought his Big 5 team to the park. The team included Isaac Wilthous (he would play for the NBA’s Bucks), Cliff Williams and Herman Taylor. The team’s coach was John Isaacs who played for the Harlem Renaissance, who won the 19369-1940 world basketball championship. The Big 5 reached the finals and faced a team sponsored by Snooky’s Sugar Bowl. John “Snooky” Walker was the coach and the team had players like Jack Defares and Carl Green. There were a large number of spectators who saw the Big 5 win by 3 points. And the Big 5 would win again in 1955. John Walker started a team called the Young Rens, after leading the name from the Harlem Renaissance. The Sugar Bowl was only one of John Walker’s restaurant. After service in World War II as a chef, he opened up several other eateries after he was discharged. His Sugar Bowl was near the Abyssinian Baptist Church and the Mother AME Zion Church, and the churches gave him a lot of business. The Young Rens and other teams faced Jim Crow discrimination in the South. During World War II Red Auerbach would head up to Washington DC from the Norfolk Navy Base to watch the DC Bears play. Snooky’s team soon recruited a man named Ronald “Knowledge” Evans. Both Snooky and Holcombe mentored him and he was able to play at Commerce High School in 1952 and 1953 and then at Fayetteville University in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Ron never made it to the NBA but did become the person that Holcombe wanted him to be, since Ron soon was a teacher and then promoted to a principal. In 1956 the Young Rens started to barnstorm and attention shifted to the high school and college level teams. The teams would feature NYU greats like Cal Ramsey and Satch Sanders who played on a team called the United Players Basketball Association (PBA). This team won championships from 1957 to 1959. Cal Ramsey also made it the NBA (New York Knicks) and by 2003 he was the NYU basketball coach and the Knicks’ director of special events. In 1952 Holcombe got Stanley Hill to come uptown from the Lower East Side to play for him. Stan had also played at Commerce High with Cal Ramsey and between 1951 and 1959 he played at Commerce and also Iona College, as well as at Rucker Park. Outside of New York the black players faced a great deal of racism. On January 2, 1957 Stan and the rest of the Iona Gaels were to play the Mississippi Rebels in an NCAA Tournament in Owensboro KY. Before the game, the public address announced said that the governor of Mississippi had declared that the Rebels would not play against an integrated team and forfeited. But that was not the wishes of the coach and the players, who went to Stan and apologized to him. In 2001 Iona faced Ole Miss again and this time Stan posed with the Ole Miss team and received an autographed ball. After basketball Stan walked in public service as a caseworker, and in 1986 was elected head of the District Council 37 Union. As a caseworker, Stan made certain that the kids under his care did well in school and had the same commitment that Holcombe instilled in him. Soon Holcombe arranged for his players to face teams from Philadelphia. Soon three players from Temple University - Hal Lear, Guy Rodgers, and Jay Norman – visited New York. Hall and Guy played in the NBA and in 1957 brought Wilt Chamberlain to Rucker Park. When the game was on, Hal and Guy were no pushovers to Wilt. Wilt and Cal made for a great game. High School student Billy Baxter played at Rucker Park but did not play at his high School (Commerce) since worked after school. After he graduated, he did play at St. Augustine College in Raleigh NC, and after that worked for the Parks Department. Eventually there were a semi-pro team of Bronx All Stars who won in 1958 & 1959. The Bronx team was led by CCNY alumnus Floyd Layne (from The City Game fame) who got a second chance from Holcombe Rucker like Ed Warner did. Some of the players were Ralph Bacate (later the Bronx High School of Science coach), and Ray Felix. Their big rival was Brooklyn who had Jackie Jackson, Eddie Simmons, and Bruce Sproggins. All three attended Virginia Union University in Richmond VA. Virginia Union once played Johnson Smith University at Madison Square Garden and one of the Johnson players was a man named Curly Neal, who would gain fame with the Harlem Globetrotters. One of the Rucker Park players, Richard Reed, played for Benedict College in South Carolina from 1953 to 1957. Thanks to Jim Crow, the Benedict College players were not permitted to play University of South Carolina players except unofficially and in a remote place. In another Jim Crow incident, the Benedict players tried to play a team from a Bible college but the police told them to leave the gym. When he returned to New York, Richard brought a white team from the Lower East Side to Rucker Park. Neil Goldstein also brought the Lower East Side Laborers team uptown as well. In 1960 Neil enrolled at Mississippi Southern University and had to face anti-Semitic and anti-northerner discrimination and harassment. The locals hanged and burned an effigy of Coach Lewis because he wanted to recruit black players. Son Coach Lewis left Mississippi and went to Syracuse University where he flourished as a coach. Neil also left Mississippi and came home to start up his own business. Around this time in Virginia Jackie Jackson, Ed Simmons, and Bruce Spraggins headed to William & Mary College to visit their friend Jeff Cohen (Jeff would play for the Harlem Globetrotters a few years later – one of the few white guys who got the chance). While in the Tribe’s gym the campus police chased Jeff and his friends out, thanks to Jim Crow. When Jeff got back to New York he was persuaded to play for Brooklyn USA. Mel Feldman coached a Rucker Park team called the Redmen that had Nevil Shed and Gene Feaster. Gene’s cousin from Georgia named Johnny Mathis also joined the Redmen. Johnny would later play in the American Basketball Association. Ray Felix copied Holcombe and set a tournament In Elmhurst named after himself. At this tournament one game Mel had to get some substitute players and they soon faced Snooky’s Sugar Bowl. Two Redmen fouled out of the game so it was 3 on 5. But the Redmen won the game. In the 1960’s two Rucker Park alumni would play for the Texas Western University team that won the NCAA Finals against all white Kentucky by a score of 72-65. This may have helped to push integration forward in the South. A man named Fred “Spook” Stegman coached several teams in the 1950’s and 1960’s. Spook piped talent to AL McGuire at Belmont Abbey in North Carolina. Belmont had Danny Doyle and John von Bargen and soon Belmont attracted North Carolina’s Division I schools to play them. Spook’s teams were called Spook’s All Stars but the name caused some uneasiness. Spook was very eccentric. Spook had a good roster and one of his players was Tom Kearns, who played a few games for the Syracuse Nationals before being cut to make room for Hal Lear. Tom later became a financial advisor and one of his clients was Wilt Chamberlain. Before Syracuse, Tom was a Bronx kid who went to St. Anne’s Academy (Archbishop Molloy) and played under Lou Carnesecca. Spook did admit that he was a bit intimidated playing before all black crowds, but his All Stars were accepted. Spook would later recruit Danny Doyle of Astoria for Belmont Abbey. While playing at Rucker Park Danny was a bit of a showoff on the court and often ran to 125th Street to catch his bus to Astoria. Spook got his nickname at Al McGuire’s Bar on Beach 108th Street in Rockaway. One night one of the McGuire brothers saw Spook take someone’s money and buy himself a drink. Johnny McGuire said that he was like a ghost or spook. The bar had 3 man teams who would take on anybody. Black players from Rucker Park went there to play. While Spook was able to get Danny Doyle to play for Belmont, he admitted that he was not able to recruit Connie Hawkins, Roger Brown or Lew Alcindor. Chapter 3 is also kind of long. Here we meet Connie Hawkins and Roger Brown. Both men got raw deals for being associated with a gambler and lost their scholarships. Roger stayed in Dayton after dropping out of the University of Dayton and worked for GM but would later play for the Indiana Pacers of the American Basketball Association; Connie also returned to basketball with the ABA’s Pittsburgh Pipers and later the NBA’s Phoenix Suns. Wilt Chamberlain had a Rucker Park team called Wilt the Stilt’s Small’s Paradise team that played the Brooklyn All Stars, which included Jackie Jackson and Walt Bellamy. We also meet Joe Hammond, an almost homeless Harlem dropout who loved basketball and shooting dice. In 1965 Holcombe Rucker finally got a better park, along the Harlem River Drive. But in March of 1965 he died of lung cancer at the Kingsbridge VA Hospital and was buried in LI National Cemetery. After Holcombe’s untimely death in March 1965, several of the players he helped (including Ed Warner) worked to continue his legacy. The park on West 155th Street that bears his name was dedicated by john lindsay in 1969. The chapter also talks about the Philadelphia players and the Baker League that plays there. We also meet Tony Greer, St. Francis Prep 1960, who played for St. Anselm’s College. Earl “The Pearl” Monroe came up to Rucker Park from Philadelphia. The source of that nickname came from newspaper headlines after he scored high amounts of points for his college in North Carolina. In Philly he was called “Black Jesus” for his miracles on the asphalt and the hardwood. In 1966 he brought his team to Rucker Park to face the New York counterpart. One of the players on the New York team was SFP Terrier Tony Greer, and then they “drafted” UCLA student Lew Alcindor to play. We also learned that Tony later became a parole officer and a social worker and after his retirement from these positions, he became a girls’ basketball coach at a Wings Academy in the Bronx. The Philadelphia players also faced a New York team that was comprised of several New York Knicks – Walt Frazier (but only for one game in the Rucker Park), Willis Reed, and Bill Bradley. So it looks like Walt Frazier was a bit embarrassed to be kicked off of the Rucker Pros team after one game. But he did shine with the Knicks, though. The chapter also talks about Earl “Goat” Manigault and Harthorne Wingo. Both men had drugs almost destroy their lives. In the 1960’s the Philadelphia All Colonials faced the Rucker Pros in a championship. Philly had Herman “Copter” Knowings, who dominated. Herman came to Harlem from South Carolina and played in the Wagner Center on East 120th Street. Earl “Goat” Manigault played at Rucker Park with a childhood friend named Lew Alcindor. Lew said the “Goat” was the best player he ever saw. He was flying high until drugs did him in, including getting expelled from Benjamin Franklin High School in his senior year. Earl visited bars, social clubs, barbershops, and pool halls, and hanging around with thugs but thanks to basketball did not participate in gang activities. He was able to dunk over several NBA greats. Goat had a rough upbringing, being raised by a single mom, but Holcombe was a good mentor to him. Goat brought Benjamin Franklin High players to Rucker Park to form a team called Young Life. In 1967 this team beat Brooklyn USA and its star player named Eldridge “Steel Springs” Webb. After getting a high school diploma at an academy in North Carolina, he stayed in the state and attended Johnson C. Smith University for one year before dropping out due to problems in the classroom and with his coach. When he returned to New York in 1969 he was arrested for drugs and jailed for a year. When he got out in 1970 the Utah Stars gave him a tryout but he was soon cut. He came home and started the Goat Tournament on the Upper West Side (Happy Warrior Park on West 99th Street). He was arrested again and after being released he and two of his sons moved to Charleston to get away from the big city. But he missed his tournament and returned home (he passed away in 1998). Another Carolina transplant is Harthorne Wingo, who arrived from Tryon North Carolina in 1968. Soon he was playing with the Eastern League’s Allentown Jets, and the Harlem Wizards. He played for the New York Knicks from 1972 to 1976 and then overseas in Italy, Switzerland and Argentina. But he squandered his money and was soon destitute. The author found him at a friend’s place in Jersey City. Harthorne soon went into rehab, but somehow, he never made the contacts that his teammates had made so he could get a decent position after basketball. The author soon called his teammates and they helped. As of 2003 Harthorne was drug free, working and living in West Harlem. Chapter 4 is another long chapter and here we meet Julius Erving – Dr. J. He got his nickname of Doctor at Roosevelt High School when a classmate whom he called “Professor” called him “Doctor”. His coach recommended that he play at Rucker Park and by 1969 was playing there. Chapter 4 also talks about Willie Hall (who had played for Archbishop Molloy and St. John’s) and Tom Hoover. These men played for Sweet & Sour, a team named for a bar at 138th Street & 7th Avenue. Sweet & Sour played against the Daily News All Stars who had Billy Paultz (from St. John’s), Tom Riordan, Ollie Taylor, and Dr. J. While at Rucker Park Dr. J perfect his technique. Also in 1969 Joe Hammond returned to Rucker Park. He was still making money shooting craps and now was also selling drugs. With this money we was able to get new sneakers for the Rucker Park players who could not afford them. That same year Joe Hammond awed people at Fordham University when he rode rings around other players in one-on-one contests. Among his opponents were Nate Archibald and Dean Meminger. Soon Joe was approached by Rucker Park’s New York Pros’ coach Teddy Jones and was asked to plan in a game against Philadelphia’s Liberty Bell team. Joe helped the New York team trounce the Liberty Bell team. Joe Hammond and Richard “Pee Wee” Kirkland were the playground aces. Pee Wee soon was playing at Norfolk State University and was drafted by the Chicago Bills in 1968 but never played a game for them. He returned to Harlem and became a gangster. But while doing the gangster activities he still loved the game and between 1968 and 1971 he played for Millbank Community Center at Rucker Park, and was the Park’s scoring champion. In 1971 he was sentenced to 10 years at Lewisburg Correction Center in Pennsylvania. While there he helped form the Anthracite League, his team being the Lewisburg Hilltoppers. While with Lewisburg his team played the Lithuania National team and won 225-47. When he was released, he turned his life around and ran a school ate the Central Baptist Church on Amsterdam Avenue and 92nd Street, He also did commercials and had a role in a movie as a basketball scout. His playing skills also got him a position at Long Island University teaching basketball. In 1971 Dr. J and Joe Hammond faced each other with their teams (the Westsiders for Dr. J; Millbank for Joe). The Westsiders, coached by Pete Vecsey, also had Billy Paultz, Mike Riordan, Brian Scott, and Charlie Taylor. But at tip off Joe was not there. He showed up after half time because he was busy shooting dice. Once Joe showed up, it was a one-on-one between Joe and Dr. J, and the Westsiders won in triple overtime. Both Joe and Dr. J each scored around 40 points. Joe claimed over 50 but that is still disputed. In 1999 Dr. J met with the author in an Orlando hotel room. Dr. J mentioned his playing days in the ABA with the Virginia Squires and the New York Nets after he left the University of Massachusetts in 1971 after sophomore year. He told the author that he was a good player in high school but definitely not the best. Dr. J credited his days at Rucker Park for his success in the pros (both the ABA and the NBA) which led to his success later in business, He played on three world championship teams between the two leagues. He also said that the game 1 in 1971 was not just a game between hi and Joe Hammond. It was more Joe vs. Dr. J’s teammates. Much of what else happened at that game is legend, and the Westsiders won. Dr. J said that Joe and he were good operators. The game also helped put Rucker Park on the map. Then later in 1971 the Los Angeles Lakers approached Joe Hammond to try and recruit him as they were very much impressed with his playing the game. But Joe never played high school or NCAA basketball and never had a bona fide job. Los Angeles offered him a contract for one year at $50,000. But he was make many times that shooting dice and selling drugs. He also declined a position with their summer league team. Later Lou Carnesecca took him to dinner at a restaurant (Dante’s) near St. John’s and tried to get him to play for the New York Nets. Former New York Knick Dean Meminger also praised Joe as a great player. But it is hard to market a player with only playground experience but none at the high school or NCAA level. Joe could have had that experience if he allowed himself to be coached. Lou said that if Joe had signed for him, the Nets would have been a real ABA contender. Chapter 5 starts in the summer of 1972 with the Harlem Professional Basketball League playing at Rucker Park on the weekends, and now also on Friday nights under the lights. More fans showed up and even started to go onto school roofs until the NYPD chased them away. Soon injuries to players made it necessary to move indoors to City College’s gym for two years, despite having insurance. Copycat leagues sprang up in other cities. Soon former Allentown Jet Ronnie Nunn was shining indoors. He was so good that the Denver Nuggets were interested, but he did not make the cut. Ronnie continued to play in Mexico. While there he got sick with hepatitis but Red Holtzman called him to come and try out with the Knicks. He did not make the team, so he played in the Rucker Tournament for the pro division’s Courtsmen. It was one of the top tiered teams along with Dr. J’s Daily News All Stars, Milbank, mall’s Paradise, the Rucker Pros, and the Bronx All Stars (coached by Floyd Layne). During the 1970’s white fans did go to Rucker Park and often sat near Stokely Carmichael and H. Rap Brown. But it was basketball and not politics. Ronnie Nunn did play Dr. J while in college, in a U Mass – George Washington match up. Later Ronnie joined the Pro-Am League, whose main referee was Cecil Watkins, who had been a friend of Holcombe. While playing a game, Cecil asked if he would like to become a referee instead of playing. He took Cecil up on the offer. After a few years at City College, the Rucker tournament was moved to Louis Brandeis High School at Columbus Avenue and 84th Street in 1975. By 1977 the Harlem Professionals had raised enough money to resurface the blacktop and make some changes to the surroundings at Rucker Park, and the playing returned there. But the NBA professionals were reluctant to play there because an injury could end their careers. One who did stay at Rucker Park was James “Fly” Williams, who played with the ABA Spirits of St. Louis and the NBA Seattle Super Sonics. After his playing days at Stephan Peay College he played at Rucker before going to the ABA. After the ABA he played in France and Israel. At Rucker Park he played with a team called FEZ. Some of his teammates were Mel Davis and Ed Searcy (St. John’s veterans). FEZ never won a championship but Fly did enhance his reputation. After his playing days were over, Fly’s life went downhill – selling drugs and ending up in jail twice, and also getting shot once. But he did turn his life around and by 2003 was a VP at Reality Check Foundation, an organization that uses basketball to keep Brooklyn kids off the streets – something similar to what Holcombe did years before. World (formerly Lloyd) Free visited his friend Fly at his Realty Check and they spoke about Frank "Shake & Bake” Streety and his playing them at Rucker Park in 1977. Frank later played for the Harlem Globetrotters and was also approached by the Detroit Pistons. Frank played World at Rucker and outscored him 25-16, but never 40 points. Frank worked for 12 years at Covenant and left with his wife for Florida after 9-11. Joe Hammond returned to Rucker in 1977 and set scoring records, including 73 points in one game. Joe was so good that even NBA players could not shoot him down. In 1978 Billy Rieser – White Jesus – came to Rucker Park. In his first 2 years of high school he played at St. Agnes on East 43rd Street. To get more exposure, he left and went to Benjamin Franklin near his East Harlem home – one of a handful of white guys in the school. After he high school he went to Centenary College in Louisiana (and got a new Cutlass and some money from an oil baron) but after a sophomore year injury he left for Eastern Kentucky for two years., Then he returned to Rucker Park, which he said was the pinnacle of making it in basketball. He did receive offers to play overseas but his knees were giving out. He eventually moved to Kentucky and started a telecommunications company and also got active in his church. By 1980 the pros stopped coming to Rucker Park because of the risk of injuries to their careers. During the 1980’s Joe Hammond served time at Riker’s Island a couple of times but did play for a team sponsored by Coca Cola. Richard “Pee Wee” Kirkland was also imprisoned, for tax evasion and other charges. Sadly, Herman Knowings was killed in a car crash on April 12, 1980. Phil Rucker held a benefit for Herman’s family. In chapter 6 we learned that by 1980 hard times came to Rucker Park. But Earl Goat Manigault had returned with his Goat Tournament. He had a few failures in life, and his return helped him relate to some of the local Harlem residents who had experienced failure and saw that they could rebound. Goat had kicked his drug habit. But the pros were no longer coming to Rucker Park like before. Now only a few of the Westsiders squad remained, like Sam Worthen. Sam spoke with the author and said that playing at Rucker Park made him handle crowds and later play well in the NCAA and the NBA. Sam did regret that the pros were not coming to the park any longer. By 1982 it looked like the Rucker Tournament was gone. But in that year rapper Greg Marius started EBC – Entertainers Basketball Clinic and soon players like Walter Berry and Pearl Washington showed up. Greg also asked his entertainment and basketball contacts/friends to help the EBC. Soon the emcees were entertainers and they gave interesting nicknames to the players. But the quality of play was not as good as in prior decades and there were no sponsors. But soon the combination of music and basketball drew a new and larger set of fans. The chapter also talked about Joe Hammond and his time at Dannemora Prison in Clinton County during the 1980’s. He was able to form a league while there to keep himself busy and keep the other inmates out of trouble. He also did one on one tournaments and never lost (usually bet cans of tuna fish). He also found ways to get favors for the other inmates and was released in 1988. But he still went back to his old ways. In October 1990, the author ran into him in east Harlem when Joe interfered with a touch football game being played in the street. The author was the one who recognized Joe and learned that Joe was living in an East Harlem housing project with a girlfriend and one of his four children. Richie “The Animal” Adams also went from Rucker Park to prison. He had starred at Rucker Park, Benjamin Franklin HS, and then at the University of Nevada Las Vegas (from 1981 to 1985, with one red shirt year). He started to use drugs but still excelled on the court. He was drafted by the Washington Bullets in 1985 but defying authority got him cut, and he returned to the Bronx, after first playing in Argentina. In 1991 he was sent to the Bare Hill Correctional Facility in Malone NY for armed robbery and grand larceny. The author went to visit him in 1991 and Richie could not believe what happened to him. Over the next 3 years he called the author collect each night until he was paroled in 1994, and returned to Manhattan and Rucker Park, playing on a team called the X-Men. This team won championships in the mid 1990’s. Richie was almost as good as he was before he went to UNLV. But Richie returned to prison in 1996 on a manslaughter charge. People who knew him could not believe it. By 1989 talented players returned to the Park. One was a team called the Future Pros, led by Malloy “The Future” Nesmith. Other Pros included future SJU stars Malik Sealy and Lamont Middleton, as well as NBA and overseas stars Steve Burtt and Troy Truesdale. The Future Pros stunned players on Jay’s All Stars who were years older than they were. One of the spectators, nicknamed Alpo, was not happy with the referees’ calls and threatened to sic his pit bulls on them. Players finally persuaded him to get his dogs out of the Park, and play resumed. The Future Pros won in an upset, 86-83. This was the team’s only season at Rucker Park, but several of the players went on to the NBA (Malik Sealy & John Morton). Other players starred in Europe and Australia, but one player (Carlton Hines) was murdered in 1994. The Future later formed another team for the Pro-Am Tournament in 2001, called the Dyckman, which included NBA players. The tournament was played at Hunter College gym but did not seem to be as good as the play at Rucker Park since the play was more structured than at the Park. Dyckman did win the Tournament. The Future did shine in college but never did make it to the NBA. He did interview with the author for Vibe magazine and told him that the team started to lose more often. The Future also did some ads for Nike and was featured on a TNT documentary. He became friends with Shaq O’Neal who got him a tryout with the International Basketball League’s Las Vegas Bandits. But it did not pan out. He still played in the Entertainers League at the Park. Maybe hoping that an NBA coach will notice him. Chapter 7 brings us to 1990 and Greg Marius and his EBC were drawing crowds, and getting good sponsors like AT&T, Reebok, and recording companies. Fans from both the hip hop and basketball worlds were coming to the Park. He was soon partnering with Gus Wells, who owned a club nearby. Greg was able to renovate the Park and had Gus provide security. Later the two men met with the Parks and Police Departments to have police presence and have the Park maintained. Being fairly wealthy, Greg had to prove that he was not a drug dealer. Greg insisted on no admission charge. In 1992 we would meet 15 year old Kareem Reid, nicknamed Best Kept Secret, who played on the Mousey Dream Team with future NBA star Stephon Marbury. Besides at the Park, Kareem would also play at St. Nicholas Tolentine and St. Raymond’s High Schools, and then at the University of Arkansas (from 1995 to 1999). He almost got to play for the NBA Pacers but lost out to Jalen Rose. But he did make a name for himself on the Harlem Globetrotters. In 1995 at the Park Kareem’s team, called Sugar Hill, beat a team managed by Puff Daddy Coombs. Puff Daddy was not too happy. Sugar Hill eliminated the X-Men in 1996 thanks to Kareem Reid, but the actual finals game between Sugar Hill and Flower Unit never took place due to overcrowding at the Park. In 2001 Kareem was playing for Sean Puffy’s Bad Boys and by 2003 he was still hoping to make it to the NBA. Joe Hammond ran into Larry Atling in 1993 at Riker’s Island and got the author to try and interview him there. But Larry was transferred to Coxsakie Prison and that is where the interview took place. The author later wrote about him in Slam magazine. Larry was released in 1995 and went to college and later on was working for IBM and playing for a team called Cash Money Millionaires. At the Park. Shaq O’Neal also visited the Park in 2001 and was impressed. Soon games were broadcast on TV and his family & friends in Poughkeepsie got to see him play. In May 1998 Earl “Goat” Manigault died at the age of 53. The author wrote his obituary for the New York Times. Joe Hammond also eulogized Goat. Ian O’Connor had also praised him in a 1989 article in the Times as well, even if his skills at 44 had faded. Later on the New York Post’s Pete Vecsey wrote an article praising Earl. In the 1990’s a player named Rafer Alston of South Jamaica showed up at the Park, He is considered one of the best to have ever played there. In 1995 Jerry Tarkanian of Fresno State (formerly of UNLV) was there and soon recruited Rafer. Rafer first played for Fresno City Junior College before transferring to Fresno State and eventually he made it to the NBA, playing for the Milwaukee Bucks, Golden State Warriors, and the Toronto Raptors. In 1996 Coach Mousey spots a man nicknamed “Wolverine” and got him to play for his Mousey Dream Team against Conrad McRae’s Sports Entourage. The Dream Team won the game but Wolverine was never seen at Rucker Park again. In the summer of 1996 Allen Iverson and Stephon Marbury played on Puff Daddy’s Bad Boys and faced Sugar Hill. Despite a combined 60 points between the 2 NBA greats, Sugar Hill won. But the game had to be cut short thanks to a fight in the stands. Actually, Puff Daddy had been going to games at the Park since he was young, and now was able to get great players for his team. The Bad Boys have won 2 EBC championships. He said that the individual match ups (the players themselves) are what make the games so special. Puff Daddy said that anyone who has played at the Park has heart. He also said that music and basketball complement each other but you cannot mix them. James “Speedy” Williams said that in the mid 1990’s that he was getting $600 or $700 per game. The money is furnished by drug dealer, rappers, and those with respectable careers, and well as the money placed on bets. Speedy later played in the US Basketball League and the Harlem Wizards, another touring team similar to the Globetrotters. NBA professionals have always played against Rucker Park stars. Washington Wizard Jerry Stackhouse played on Flavor Unit against Ed Lover’s All Stars. One of the All Stars was Junie “General Electric” Sanders. Jerry and GE also met at an indoor game in the Pro Am league and GE scored 84 points. In August 1999 Vince “Air Canada” Carter came to the Park. Before the game could start rain forced them to head to Gaucho Gym in the Bronx to play. It was Vacant Lot Pros against Blackhand Entertainment. Vince arrived late, near the end of the 1st quarter, to play for Blackhawk. However, he stunned the crowd with his point scoring and overall performance. Chapter 8 starts at the turn of the 21st century. Beavon Robin, a Fordham Rams alumnus, shines at the Park for the Net Posse, who beat rival Vacant Lot 76-60. The Net Posse won the Rucker Park/EBC championship for the 2nd time. Also in the new century (2001) Danny “Sunshine” Doyle returned to watch his son Tim (Baby Sunshine) play at the Park. They were the first white father son pair to have played at the Park. Tim would play on the New York squad against a team from Philadelphia. Tim started to get a bit arrogant and got his dad worried until an official told him to watch his behavior. Despite the great performance by Tim and his teammates, the Philly team won 78-77. Tim’s great performance made the fans come over to congratulate him. Tim would soon play for St. John’s. Greg Marius’ EBC was talking off in the 21st century with big sponsors giving money. Greg also wrote an open letter to the Park faithful to keep the tournaments going. Now there were lines forming for tickets, and there was also a tournament store nearby. Famous people like Bill Clinton and David Stern came to watch the games, as did coaches to spot potential recruits. In 2002 Kobe Bryant met with Greg and played in a game against a squad from Washington DC. Thanks to rain, the game was called after the first half. Kobe also came to the Park to try and get Greg to help him market his line of sneakers. Later on Greg was asked what the net worth of the EBC was and he never gave the exact amount. But for an article in the New York Times he told Corey Killgallon and the author that it had great profit potential. But Rucker Park loyalists like Joe Hammond complained that it got too commercial and was not what Holcombe had envisioned. Joe also said that commercialism was killing the sport and now it’s more hip hop and what sneakers you wore. But Greg said that the play has never been netter and that his EBC was helping keep Holcombe’s legacy alive. In the summer of 2002, a young lady named Shannon “Something Special” Bobbitt came to the Park to play for the Lady Mustangs. Her team beat the Milbank’s ladies’ team and soon Division I schools were calling on her. For the men’s 2002 championship it was Fat Joe and Mousey’s team, which had 2 NBA players (Ron Artest and Stephon Marbury) and several NBA and Park alumni against the Ruff Ryders. In the end, Fat Joe’s team won its first Rucker Park championship, 80-69. In the epilogue, we saw that Kobe and other NBA stars would be going to the Park for visibility and to push their products that they endorsed, especially sneakers. For Kobe and other players, playing at the Park increased their visibility and help them push their wares. These days NBA stars, after their initial playing days, rarely came back to the Park. But since it is more commercial now, even local New York City players are thinking about money when playing. The great rivalries from the 1950’s and 1960’s are gone. The EBC will not be the competitive wonder that the Rucker League was in its prime. But entrepreneurs like Fat Joe and Puff Daddy get publicity at the Park and that helps their products to get sold, and big sponsors help make the EBC earn millions. But this type of commercialism at the Park is no different than what we had on TV with the commercials. Joe Hammond complained that the League has been stripped of its early days purity when they came to play basketball and not do commercials. And NBA stars don’t have to prove themselves on the asphalt. But when the NBA stars do come to the Park, they bring fans and TV cameras and also some good NCAA and ex-NCAA players to the court. The author believes that EBC's future is bright with the possibility of teams barnstorming and also foreign teams coming to the Park. He also believes that more sponsors will come and the EBC will thrive on its excellence and the fact that it is in a class by itself. The Park’s tales will continue to unfold for generations to come.

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On May 23rd I started to read Helen of Pasadena by Lian Dolan. Helen Castor Fairchild is a rich widow whose husband was killed in an accident at the Rose Bowl Parade. Chapter 1 starts at her late husband Merritt’s funeral and the chapter talks about the couple’s friends and family and mentioned that their son’s schoolmates from the Millington School came to the funeral and that the parents were all dressed in clothes with the proper labels. She has two good friends (Candy McKenna and Tina Chau). Candy is a former Rose Queen who went to Brown University for a couple of years and posed in Playboy for a Girls of the Ivy League album. That did not go well in 1980’s Pasadena and she was no longer a Rose Queen. Tina is from Hong Kong and married a wealthy Anglo American. So far, I get the impression that in some circles in Pasadena CA is a city where keep up is a big game. In chapter 2 she learned that her late husband Merritt was having an affair with a news anchor named Roshelle Simms when he was killed in the accident at the 112th Rose Parade. We also meet her mother in law Mitsy Fairchild, a society type bitch who is ultra-status conscious. Residents of status conscious Pasadena are concerned over which pre-school elementary school and prep school their kids get accepted to. Helen and Merritt were hoping that their son Aiden would get into Ignatius Prep School. The schools send out acceptance letters in April and a divorce would kill Aiden’s chances of acceptance so Helen and Merritt planned to stay married until then, even though the affair was going on since December. In chapter 3 she visits the law offices of Billy Owens, a friend of her late husband since childhood, going from elementary school to the University of Southern California together and were also frat brothers. She also has a meeting with their accountant Bruno Purcelli who breaks the news to her that thanks to bad investments and the market tanking, she is broke. She also learned that Merritt was going to divorce her and Marry Rochelle (aka Shelly Slusky) who was quite wealthy thanks to her company Slusky’s Wash & Dry. She soon learned that she was broke thanks to Merritt’s bad investments and the stock market tanking. Billy and Bruno tell her that Merritt had her sign everything over to him so he could manage the finances by himself. After the meeting at Billy’s office she heads home to her “forever house’, a Monterrey Colonial in the Oak Knoll neighborhood that she must now vacate. She felt betrayed, bereaved and now bereft. She picked up the term at Mommy and Me Aerobics from Cissy Montague, a rich 30 year old lady with Standard Oil money – wealthy enough to afford to have an in-ground pool moved to a different part of the yard. Helen envied Cissy especially when she flaunted her wealth. Maybe the thought of having to move from a forever house was a reason that her parents eschewed traditional housing and lifestyles – they lived in a yurt. Helen had a flashback to school days – home schooled and living in a counterculture household and then later going to a regular school in Sisters OR and loving the conventional school life. Eventually she was accepted to Willamette College in Salem and loved the dorm life and her classics courses. At grad school in Berkeley she met Merritt. We then fast forward to today (2010) and she is wondering what to do now. Should she copy what the divorcees do and move to a condo on the right street and get a job in real estate or with a charity? But first things first and she texted Candy to tell her that she needs a real estate agent. Chapter 4 introduces us to Rita Beghosian, an Armenian American who is part of the Armenians’ taking over of the commercial life in Pasadena. Tina Chau would use her Yale law degree to help Helen because it looks like Merritt set her up for the next life (he duped her). Rita gave Helen a to do list for her place to get it ready for an open house event. Melanie Martin, a Neutron Mom then came by to visit. A Neutron Mom is one had had power and prestige while working and then is demoted to a stay at home mom and is impossible to deal with. She is a type A personality. Melanie became the head of the Five Schools Benefit, named after the 5 Pasadena private schools (Millington, Raleigh, Redwood, Martindale and Cloverfield) that annually raise funds for the city’s public schools. For 2010 the Benefit’s theme is “The Best and the Brightest”. Melanie came by to tell Helen that another lady took over her spot as the head of the Sponsorship Committee and Helen will be the honorary head. After Melanie left, Jan Gamble brought Aiden home, with another casserole. Helen told us about Jan marrying into the family of a Proctor & Gamble co-founder, and that the Gamble family came to Pasadena in the 19th century for the citrus farms and the sun along with other industrialists. Pasadena soon became a city of 150,000 people of all races and classes, thanks to Hollywood, Cal Tech, scientists, and movie people. Jan is genuinely concerned about Helen’s well-being, unlike Melanie. Helen then explained how she was the glue that held the Millington School together. It was because she only had Aiden, as opposed to the other moms who had 2 to 4 kids. That made her more available for numerous school activities. Candy McKenna’s first husband was a closeted gay and after the divorce she lost a lot of business contacts. Helen told Candy and Tina that she needs to get a paying job and Tina recommends Elizabeth Maxwell. Mitsy Fairchild invited Helen to her lavish condo (filled with art and antiques and decorated by an interior decorator. She had lunch with Mitsy and it was a typical old money meal. Billy had told Mitsy about the financial situation and that the house is going onto the market. Misty asked Helen about her new plans and she did not like Helen’s “new age” answer. But Mitsy could not or would not help with Aiden’s schooling costs. A fund was never set up for him. They agreed that the financial situation would not be advertised and the Fairchild name would stay intact. Now with Merritt gone the situation at home is different. When he was alive there was very little talking between Helen and him during the day. Until around 7 pm when he got home. It’s different now. Aiden watches TV – The Simpsons and also commercials with Rochelle Simms, on Fox TV. Naturally, Helen is not happy with this. But she really wants Aiden to get into Ignatius Prep and plans to have tutoring for him so he will do well on the admissions test, but he had bad experience with tutors before. Aiden was a C+ student in elementary school so he will need the preparation for the tests. With the family background he should still get into a decent school and a good career provided that he does not do something stupid. But his mom still wants him to get into Ignatius Prep. His dad even did what he could to get him interested – football games and a school t-shirt. In chapter 5 Helen visits Elizabeth Maxwell of Maxwell and Mather Executive Search. However, most of her adult life was as a stay at home mom and volunteer work, neither of which make her very employable for a high level position. Tina had done some enhancing of the resume but that still did not help Helen’s prospects. Elizabeth suggested that she try for a paying job at the Huntington Library since Helen did spend a lot of time volunteering there in the prior years. Helen though about all of the talks that she gave at the Millington School since she had the time and later also thought back to when her marriage to Merritt started to sour. It was a vacation to Mexico’s Puerto Vallarta in 2003 that turned out to be a disaster. She and Merritt also were trying for baby #2, but with no luck. Helen goes for a job interview at the Huntington Library in chapter 6. She describes the décor and the layout and then meets with Sarah White, a California version of an Upper east Side Manhattanite. The two ladies walk through the library garden where Sarah tells Helen about a DS (Distinguished Scholar) who is there and offered her a position as his assistant. The man was a classical archaeologist researching about the ancient city of troy and the Trojan War. Meanwhile Helen thought about the story told in The Iliad about the Trojan War and the kidnapping of Helen of Troy (maybe that is a play on words for the novel’s title?). Then she runs into the scholar and talks about the Houdin statue of The Goddess of the Hunt (Diana). The scholar is Dr. Patrick O’Neill and he soon asked her where he can get some great tacos in Pasadena. She tells him to go to La Estrella. After the interview Helen returns home in triumph and had Candy and Tina come over for some moral support. Helen uses Google to learn more about Dr. O’Neill and see that he has written numerous articles and has several positions like Chair of Classical Archaeology at the American School in Athens. He had also collaborated at the excavations at Troy. And his dad was an expatriate executive in Europe at Questrum Pharmaceuticals. In chapter 7 she started worrying about financial issues, the care of her son, and if he would turn to drugs. Now she has an 8 hour orientation for her new job at the Huntington Library. She will be working on the Rudolph Schliemann notebooks (Rudolph was the nephew of archaeologist Heinrich). During the orientation she was introduced to document scanning protocol (DSP) from Karen the Librarian, who tells her to wear cloth gloves when handling the notebooks, or risk being fired. Doctor O’Neill was assigned Cottage #7 on the Library’s grounds, and it was quite fancy. Helen wondered how to address Doctor O’Neill (who soon told her to call him Patrick). She is a nervous wreck when first working with Patrick, who told her that Rudolph’s notebooks are not that essential in the history of Troy. They are important because of their age and not for much else. Rudolph was not much of an archaeologist and later became an engineer. Patrick was in California for a chance to raise funds for more digging at the site in Turkey. It turns out that Sarah White is hung up on Patrick and went out to a nice steak restaurant the night before. And now they are going out for lunch (tacos) at La Estrella. When her shift is over Helen returns home and calls Candy to tell her about her first day, and about Sarah and Patrick. The chapter ends with a recap of Candy’s failed second marriage, to surgeon Sam Kennedy, Sam was a womanizer and Candy could not stand the days home alone while Sam was on call at the hospitals. This marriage did produce her two children, Mariah and Ian. In chapter 8 she tells us about the history of her son’s school. I was originally a sanitarium that was founded in the late 19th century but closed in the 1920’s when the air around Pasadena got as bad as everywhere else. In the 1930’s Eustice Millington founded the K-8 school. Now in February 2008 she is describing a fundraiser called the Read Write Fest that featured theater, speakers’ competitions, book signings and sales and lectures, and was asked by the parents association to chair it this year. It was to be held in the Fairchild Performing Arts Center (a gift made in Merritt’s parents’ names). Adele Arnett, Millington’s head mistress, asked if she could speak with Helen later (maybe a seat on the Board for her?) Helen had to meet with the Word-Write Committee and describes how half of the ladies are in suits and half in yoga pants. She then got a call from Natasha Natarova informing her that the guest speaker, (called the Mystery Speaker) had cancelled and they needed a replacement. Natasha had called the Huntington Library and they recommended Dr. O’Neill. On the way to Adele’s office Helen describes Aiden’s social status. He is in the middle tier of popularity – not the most popular but not a social outcast either. He has a few friends who are more interested in computer games than girls or drugs. When she got to Adele’s office Adele tells her that Aiden has been getting “incomplete” for grades and has “checked out”. And then there is the admission interview for the Ignatius School in a few days. This is mainly to check out the parents and family situations. Adele told her that progress reports had been e-mailed to her but Helen said that she never got them – because they were sent to her old address that Merritt and she opened up. She has a new one that the school never learned about. She tells Helen that Aiden has to pass his classes if he wants to graduate, because Millington has a reputation to maintain and cannot make any exceptions. But Aiden was grieving his late dad so perhaps the school could cut him some slack. Then Adele tells Helen that Yuri Natarov has been selected to fill Merritt’s seat on the Board, and Helen is not happy. But Adele said that the new financial situation for Helen would not look good for the Board, and that she could not financially support the School now. Helen was quite angry and told Adele that Aiden will graduate. She said that she will tell her friends Candy and Natasha and also her mother in law Mitsy.